Quote Originally Posted by Elite_Pie View Post
Ruben was always a class above in terms of ability right from the start, but he was bloody frustrating in his first season. With hindsight, I put most of the blame for that on Ardley. Ruben wasn't fully fit, he had a hard time due to covid isolation, but he never had a real role in the team. He would show what he was capable of for a few minutes then be anonymous for the rest of the game. Burchnall improved that, but Williams took it to the next level. He now has a clear role and performs it brilliantly.
Ardley playing him on the left of an old-school 442 didn't really help that first season. So glad we've moved on since then.